The Shaw Raiders managed to keep up with the Westover Patriots until halftime on Friday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Shaw suffered a tough 68-47 defeat at the hands of Westover. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Shaw in their matchups with Westover: they've now lost four in a row.
When it comes to explaining why Shaw lost, one person who can't be blamed is Tiara Tucker. Despite the final result, she scored 26 points along with eight rebounds and eight steals. That was a full 55.3% of Shaw's points, marking the eighth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Brooke Shipp, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and four steals.
Leading Westover to victory were Jada Landers and Sydney Donaldson. Landers dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Donaldson dropped a double-double on 23 points and 15 rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Kaiya Conway, who scored nine points along with 12 rebounds.
Shaw has not been sharp recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-8 record this season. As for Westover, their win bumped their record up to 9-10.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Shaw won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Harris County at 3:30 p.m. on January 20th. Harris County will be looking to extend their current eight-game winning streak. As for Westover, they will head out on the road to take on Tift County at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Tift County knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past six contests -- so hopefully Westover likes a good challenge.
